At the risk of stating the obvious, something isn’t right with this Whitecaps team.

A 2-1 win Saturday at B.C. Place — an outcome that looked likely until another last-second capitulation — would have only served to mask the trouble.

The fact the Caps (7-8-4) threw away points in the fifth and final minute of stoppage time — just like they did in the Canadian final against Toronto 10 days ago — was bad, yes.

And the fact Colorado’s (9-2-7) deserved equalizer came with the visitors down to 10 men was also hugely concerning for this Caps team, which seems to be lacking in leadership, gumption, and some good old-fashioned common sense.

But regardless of how Saturday’s game finished, the worries over 90 minutes were plain enough.

Colorado ran the show — with ease at times — and the Caps needed a few good saves from David Ousted and a goal-line clearance from Kendall Waston to stay afloat long enough for something fortunate to happen.

Two fortunate things, actually.

Eric Miller’s foolish tackle on Pedro Morales put his team in a tough spot and instantly brought the Caps back to life.

And then Rapids’ defender Jared Watts, on the wrong side of Cristian Techera, put an arm on the Bug’s shoulder and allowed him to sell a soft penalty.

Techera stepped up to the spot and buried his first goal of the season — that’s another issue for another day — and the Caps appeared to be on their way.

Of course, this season, no lead of theirs is safe, not even with three minutes and change to go with a man advantage.

They’ve conceded 33 goals now in 19 games, or 1.74 per contest. Last year, they tied for the league lead with 36 goals conceded (1.06 per game) and 13 shutouts.

They played with two defensive-minded midfielders Saturday but shifted to a 4-4-2 formation and were over-run in midfield and torn apart at times by the excellent partnership of Kevin Doyle and Shkelzen Gashi, who was with Albania at the Euros.

Colorado’s opening goal was a thing of beauty — the cut-back pass from Gashi and the angled run and finish from Doyle both highlighting the cutting edge missing in Vancouver’s attack this year.

Caps’ fans are clamouring for one bonafide forward during this transfer window. Imagine having two guys with chemistry in and around the box?

Caps coach Carl Robinson was honest in his assessment of the tie.

“I don’t think we deserved to win the game,” he said. “The way it panned out was disappointing, but it was probably a fair result.

“You’ve got to keep your concentration levels.”

Of the tying goal, he said: “I think we can stop it at the source,” and that was likely suggesting that Waston could have been tighter to Doyle to prevent the cross.

It was Colorado’s six-foot-six centre-back Axel Sjoberg who rose for the cross at the back post as it floated over Jordan Harvey’s head and induced an awful sense of deja vu for the home fans.

Waston had opened the scoring for the Caps just 10 minutes in as he headed in Christian Bolanos’s delightful left-footed cross for his first goal since opening day.

Vancouver Whitecaps’ Kendall Waston celebrates his goal during first half MLS soccer action against the Colorado Rapids, in Vancouver, B.C., on Saturday, July 9, 2016.DARRYL DYCK /
THE CANADIAN PRESS

The bright spots for the home side, though, were few and far between after that, despite Colorado missing one of their best players, midfielder Jermaine Jones, who was a late scratch with a leg injury.

Kekuta Manneh left with a right foot injury just before half time and the mood and mojo around this group hasn’t felt quite right all season.

Changes are undoubtedly coming. Canadian internationals David Edgar and Marcel de Jong are all but done deals, and Robinson has to find a forward to replace Octavio Rivero, who was sold to Colo-Colo in Chile this week.

But whether that will be enough to make this group a contender is a whole other question.

It’s been a season of questions so far and we’re still waiting for most of the answers.

NOTES: Caps’ striker Masato Kudo made the bench Saturday for the first time since he broke his jaw in an awful collision with Chicago’s goalkeeper on May 12.

MAN OF THE MATCH

Kevin Doyle, Colorado

The Rapids’ Irish forward was excellent on Saturday. He formed an effective partnership with Albanian international Shkelzen Gashi and the two tormented the Caps for stretches of play. Gashi was off when the equalizer came — Doyle crossed exquisitely for Sjoberg at the back post.

IT FIGURES

7: Saves for Caps’ goalkeeper David Ousted who was busy on the night and very good in the first half especially. His two saves off Kevin Doyle around the half-hour mark kept the Caps in front at the break.

33: Goals conceded by the Caps in 19 games, three less than they conceded all of last season. Grim stuff.

IN A WORD

HOBBLED: Kekuta Manneh limped off before halftime with a right foot injury — not exactly the statement he wanted to make after watching from the stands in L.A. last weekend. He’d started up front along side Blas Perez in a 4-4-2 set up.

HIGHLIGHT: Colorado’sTim Howard, the longtime Everton and U.S. goalkeeper, made an unreal save off Christian Bolanos when it was still 1-1. Howard tracked a cross and got his left foot to Bolanos’s back-post attempt.

HURRAH: The Canadian women’s national team received a rousing ovation at halftime as they prepare to head to the Rio Olympics. Christine Sinclair might have made a decent halftime sub for the Caps.

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